Verizon Encrypts the Galaxy S III Bootloader, Developers Currently looking for a Workaround

Just when you thought Verizon couldn’t piss you off any more, they appear to have gone off and done it again. According to a few lucky developer-types who received their GSIII pre-order early, Verizon’s version of the phone has a protected bootloader. Yeah, that’s right. Verizon has the only U.S. Galaxy S III, nay, the only Samsung phone that isn’t unlockable – the bootloader has been signed and encrypted at Verizon’s request.

Now before you go and cancel your pre-order because you were hoping to hack your way to a better experience, keep in mind that you still have a two week return period before you are stuck with the device. I say this because we aren’t at a complete loss just yet. Keep in mind that only a select few of the many thousands have received their pre-ordered GSIII and hopefully someone will find a loophole in the near future. One interesting thing I should mention is that one dude from XDA got his new GSIII and supposedly it had already been re-flashed. We are just waiting to see if a system dump can be obtained from that unit, and who knows, maybe that will hold the key to our hackable future. Either way I have faith still. We’ve seen our beloved developers overcome some pretty sticky situations in the past. Lets just hope this one isn’t too much of a pain in the ass.

Stacy Bruce was born and raised in Spokane Washington. He attended the University of Washington to study pre-med only to change his course study a year later to forensic science. Although currently not a doctor or a scientist, some believe he posseses the knowledge of both. He was a resident of San Diego California for ten years, lived beachside and sometimes wonders why the hell he moved back to Spokane. A multi-talented man, Stacy is a fabricator, an artist, a gear head, a tech junkie and at most, the disciple of Casanova. Growing up, he was always enthralled with electronics, gadgets and gizmos. Throughout his life he has had one, if not two, of every cool and new electronic device available. He began his smartphone experience with the original iPhone. After realizing it was more like theirPhone, he decided he wanted the ability to customize, so Stacy moved to the OG Droid and has been a loyal Android fanatic ever since. Moving through all of the top tier Verizon phones, he recently retired his Droid Charge in favor of the Galaxy Nexus, only to wonder what great device Samsung will come out with next. Stacy is a busy new homeowner in where he lives with his beautiful girlfriend and two dogs.

matt

Leaving Verizon in November. As soon as the new nexus is out, bye bye Verizon…. I’ll even pay the early termination fees.

leoingle

That’s when my contract is up also. I am gone with you too. I’m tired of Verizons BS.